How to Make an Aged Pirate's Treasure Map

A small aged pirate's treasure map

It is fun to make this aged pirate’s treasure maps. This is a project for older children or adults, since fire is involved or younger children can help make these with full adult supervision for the burning part of the project. These pirate maps can be used as stationary, invitations, games or just for imaginative play. You can even use these maps to create your own treasure hunt for a pirate themed birthday party.

Things You'll Need

• Piece of white paper
• Hot tea
• Big mixing bowl
• Lighter
• Sink area
• Black or brown pen
• Red pen

Instructions

1. Make a big pot of boiled water. Then pour it into a large mixing bowl with a few tea bags. Let them sit there until the water turns tea colored. The darker it is, the more aged the paper will turn out.

2. Place the paper in the water to soak and leave it there for an hour to absorb the tea color. After an hour or more, remove the paper from the water. Leave it to completely dry. It will feel more like a crisp parchment after it dries.

3. Cut off the straight edges of paper and sharp corners so the map has softer rounded edges. This will give it a less uniform look.

4. Stand over the sink, in case you need to douse any out-of-control flames and to keep anything else from catching on fire. Hold the paper in one hand and, using a lighter, begin to burn the edge of the map a small section at a time. You will have to blow out each section. Carefully go all the way around the map until all the edges are slightly charred.

5. Draw the pirate map on your now aged and charred paper with a brown or black pen. You can even use a calligraphy pen to give it as really old look. Make drawn features around the map, like a hill or some other landmark. Maybe even mark N, S, E and W on the four sides of the map or draw a small compass with the directions on it. Then draw a dotted line from one clue to the next, or write directions or descriptions on parts of the map. You could even write a poem that has the clues in it. Finally mark the treasure area with a red "X." Be as artistic as you like when you draw this pirate treasure map. Make it a contest to see who comes up with the most creative or realistic looking map.

Tips & Warnings

• Be very careful with the burning phase. It can quickly light the whole paper on fire. Just do it in controlled sections and blow out each section as you go. Shake off any blackened bits and ash into the sink. If it catches on fire so you can't blow it out, drop it in the sink and make a new one. It may take a few trial runs to get the hang of it.